Google Translate Disclaimer

This link to the Google Translate web application is provided for the convenience of our website visitors and is for informational purposes only.

The California Energy Commission does not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of any translation produced by the Google Translate automated web application and is not liable for any inaccurate information resulting from the use of the Google Translate.

The California Energy Commission does not endorse the use of Google Translate; other translation services may be available to translate the information on our site. Please refer to the Energy Commission's website Conditions of Use.

Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS)

Docket # 11-RPS-01 and 14-RPS-01

Quick Links

Established in 2002 under Senate Bill 1078, California's Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) was accelerated in 2006 under Senate Bill 107 by requiring that 20 percent of electricity retail sales be served by renewable energy resources by 2010. Subsequent recommendations in California energy policy reports advocated a goal of 33 percent by 2020, and on November 17, 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order S-14-08 requiring that "...[a]ll retail sellers of electricity shall serve 33 percent of their load with renewable energy by 2020." The following year, Executive Order S-21-09 directed the California Air Resources Board, under its Assembly Bill 32 authority, to enact regulations to achieve the goal of 33 percent renewables by 2020.

In the ongoing effort to codify the ambitious 33 percent by 2020 goal, Senate Bill X1-2 was signed by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., in April 2011. This new RPS preempts the California Air Resources Boards' 33 percent Renewable Electricity Standard and applies to all electricity retailers in the state including publicly owned utilities (POUs), investor-owned utilities, electricity service providers, and community choice aggregators. All of these entities must adopt the new RPS goals of 20 percent of retails sales from renewables by the end of 2013, 25 percent by the end of 2016, and the 33 percent requirement being met by the end of 2020.

The Energy Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission work collaboratively to implement the RPS. The original RPS legislation assigned the Energy Commission with the following responsibilities:

Certify renewable facilities as eligible for the RPS.

Design and implement a tracking and verification system to ensure that renewable energy output is counted only once for the purpose of the RPS and for verifying retail product claims in California or other states.

Directs the Energy Commission to adopt regulations specifying procedures for enforcement of the RPS for publicly owned utilities.

Requires the Energy Commission to certify and verify eligible renewable energy resources procured by publicly owned utilities and to monitor their compliance with the RPS. The Energy Commission will continue to certify and verify RPS procurements by retail sellers.

The Energy Commission refers the failure of a publicly owned utility to comply to the Air Resources Board, which may impose penalties.